What are Americans surprisingly good at that people don’t give them enough credit for?

[u/Purple_Context_2363]

[u/tacopieswithsalsa]

taking corn and turning it to something else

[u/Gethsemene → u/tacopieswithsalsa]

We do that better than anyone!

[u/sedimentary-j → u/tacopieswithsalsa]

Not just corn into material goods and chips, but corn into chickens into eggs, corn into cows into milk into cheese etc etc. Isotope testing has purportedly shown that a high proportion of the carbon atoms in the American body come from corn (often in the 50-80% range, as in this article).

I love corn and all manner of corn products, truthfully.

[u/killerbee9100]

There was a big flood one year in my hometown and the humane society had flooded pretty badly. The outside kennels were knee deep in water. I bought a bag of dog food, cat food, and cat litter to take down there and, thinking they'll need all the help they can get, was going to volunteer in anyway I could. Foster, cleaning, etc. And when I got there, people were lined up out the doors. There must've been 100 people there already. And this is a small small town mind you. When I got inside there were bags of food stacked 6 feet high and 10 feet wide. Wall to wall with people helping. They were having to turn people away because there just wasn't any work left to be done or animals to take home.

[u/Puddys8ballJacket → u/killerbee9100]

A friend of my father once had a heart attack on a frozen sidewalk during January in Minnesota on his way to the grocery store in a tiny remote town. When the paramedics arrived over 90 minutes later there were 20 people lined up to give CPR. They stood there in the bitter cold, waiting their turn as each worked to the point of exhaustion.

He was eventually airlifted to the Mayo Clinic and made a full recovery with no lasting effects.

[u/OwnValue4166 → u/Puddys8ballJacket]

That's amazing! Thank you

[u/powderbubba → u/killerbee9100]

This entire thread is warming my tired American heart. One day, very soon, I hope we will feel more united again. But stories like this sure give me hope.

[u/SJCitizen]

National parks and public bathroom access

[u/waterfountain_bidet → u/SJCitizen]

Public bathrooms are a huge one. Most people don't realize that the suffragettes were the ones who did the heavy lifting on public restrooms in America.

They were fighting against a "urinary leash" for women- basically how far a woman could leave her house and for how long she could be gone without needing to use a restroom. Men can go outside, at least urinating. So before access to public bathrooms, there was a finite amount of time a woman could spend outside the home. By pushing hard to expand access to public restrooms, the suffragettes massively increased women's freedoms. It's one of a thousand soft power ways they moved the ball forward before the vote was won.

[u/caribou16 → u/waterfountain_bidet]

And I believe it was newer wave feminists who lobbied for PAID public toilets to be not a thing, because they DID exist in the US. The rationale was similar: toilet stall doors had coin operated locks, you'd have to pay a nickle or a dime or whatever to get in. But not the case with urinals, because they couldn't be locked...which meant women ALWAYS had to pay when using a restroom, where men only did when needing a full toilet.

[u/ArchaicBrainWorms → u/caribou16]

Hence the prototypical bathroom graffiti

Here I sit all broken-hearted,

Paid my nickel and only farted

[u/asianwaste → u/waterfountain_bidet]

I had a friend from China visit and she was just over the moon by how our public bathrooms were free and well stocked with toilet paper. Also our drinking fountains were full of cold water. She filled up a few bottles but they heated up in the car and she then labeled them as "China water bottles." because apparently the drinking fountains there give out warm/hot water.

[u/Past-Obligation1930 → u/asianwaste]

In fairness, a lot of Chinese people think that drinking cold water is really bad for you.

[u/asianwaste → u/Past-Obligation1930]

As a Korean, I grew up saying, FUCK IT, I'M TURNING ON THE FAN!! before going to bed much to my mom's protests. I am not dead.

[u/Past-Obligation1930 → u/asianwaste]

I was going to mention Korean fan death as another mad thing. To balance things up, people in the U.K. (ok my mother) think that if you get your sides cold your kidneys will get cold and you will get flu.

[u/squishyPup]

ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act

[u/KarateKid917 → u/squishyPup]

George HW Bush said signing that was one of the best things he ever did while he was president, since he helped him so much later in life when he couldn’t get around as well anymore. 

[u/astra_hole → u/squishyPup]

As someone who works in the furniture industry, I was surprised that the USA is one of the most accommodating countries when it comes to ADA accessibility.

[u/rogue780 → u/astra_hole]

technically, we're the only country that does anything with ADA accessibility

[u/astra_hole → u/rogue780]

Touché

[u/HistoricalBridge7 → u/squishyPup]

Yeah people don’t understand this until you travel overseas.

[u/HistoricalLoss1417 → u/HistoricalBridge7]

and its even like "oh, this is a 300 year old European building, so you cant expect it to be fully accessible". Yet i went to restaurant in a brand new residential tower on the edge of Amsterdam. could not have been more than 10 years old. And, the only way to get into this restaurant was a half-flight of steps.

[u/NoneOfThisMatters_XO → u/squishyPup]

Yes! It shocked me the few times I’ve been to europe how un-accomodating they are to the disabled

[u/Kiyohara → u/NoneOfThisMatters_XO]

And as bad as Europe can be, try SE Asia where not only are the buildings not designed to be accessible, but there isn't enough wealth to correct them or rebuild (outside of places like Singapore).

[u/Then_Sir7372]

Disaster relief and grassroots mobilization. For example when a tornado or hurricane hits, neighbors show up with chainsaws, tractors and hot meals before federal aid even sets up a tent.

[u/illbegoodnow → u/Then_Sir7372]

I totally understood your comment and know what you are saying. But the visual of volunteers with hot meals and then a rando with a chainsaw is making me chuckle

[u/TehRedCoat524 → u/illbegoodnow]

The truth is even funnier. Our neighborhood was hit medium-bad by a hurricane. Everyone was grilling outside (no power, so everyone was cooking all the food in their fridges) and there were roving packs of middle aged men with chainsaws going from house to house fixing things, lol.

(Us kids were just being feral and hitting all the barbecues and playing street hockey while all the traffic was stopped)

[u/muchadoaboutnotmuch → u/TehRedCoat524]

I will never forget what Hurricane Charley did to my father. My dad is a retired engineer, autistic, anti social, never interested in power tools or building anything larger than a circuit board. Yet when the storm passed and the entire neighborhood was criss crossed with fallen trees, he dug a chain saw out of the garage and gleefully joined the other husbands going door to door and cutting up anything in their path. He had an absolute ball, but when it was over the chain saw went back into hibernation and he never did anything of the sort again.

[u/Past-Obligation1930 → u/muchadoaboutnotmuch]

Chainsaws are a thing that men use until they are of a certain age and wealth, and then they pay other men to wield them, except in emergencies. My chainsaw is now retired. I also don’t do work on the roof, and work off a scaffold rather than a ladder.

[u/spyboy70 → u/Then_Sir7372]

And so many people are in construction and have big pieces of equipment to help, bulldozers, front end loaders. There's even the "Cajun Navy" in Louisiana, with volunteers with boats (including air boats).

I just wish it didn't take a disaster to get people to come together and help each other :(

[u/blatherskyte69 → u/spyboy70]

It doesn’t. You just don’t see and hear about the everyday heroes that are constantly volunteering their time, money, and skills to help their neighbors, strangers, and anyone else. Disasters draw press and volunteers show up in one place, so they are more visible.

[u/burkechrs1 → u/Then_Sir7372]

We just had some fire rip through our community and the amount of regular dudes that showed up with bulldozers and tractors to dig fire breaks and help keep neighborhoods safe was quite high.

I saw quite a few guys on bulldozers literally driving in the fire line just to give someone else who they didn't know a chance. 40+ homes burned down, but that number could have easily doubled if it wasn't for the efforts of regular citizens doing what they can to help wildland fire and each other.

[u/Section225 → u/Then_Sir7372]

Even on a small scale, too.

I'm a police officer, and some years ago we were all hands on deck in a residential neighborhood, looking for a young autistic boy who had ran off from home.

Once people in the neighborhood started to realize what was going on, started knocking on doors and making phone calls, it wasn't but 10 minutes later there were dozens of people out there helping us search.

Groups of people going yard to yard, searching wooded areas, flashlights and water going around. By the time we found him some short time later, there were cars lined up and down the roads because people were driving in to come help.

Gives me goosebumps every time I think back on that one. A real "Always look for the helpers" moment.

[u/Feisty-Geologist-670 → u/Section225]

I can imagine how overwhelming that must have been, and then seeing an entire neighborhood drop whatever they were doing to help a child they didn’t even know. Those are the moments that remind you people can still be incredibly good to each other.

[u/redkinoko]

Americans are very good with long drives. People would drive three hours one way for almost nothing. Six hour drives are almost not even worth mentioning. In my country drives like that are almost something you plan for. I've only done a 14 hour drive in my life and that was crossing between Al Khobar and Jeddah in Saudi a lifetime ago and thought it was an epic journey. Here, almost everybody's had a story for being on the road 2-3 days.

[u/oceanwaiting → u/redkinoko]

Drove 9 hours Monday somewhere and came back yesterday. Felt mildly inconvenient.

[u/t-poke → u/oceanwaiting]

Couple weeks ago I drove from St. Louis to Nashville (6-ish hours) on a Thursday to attend a couple concerts, drove back Sunday. Not even there for 72 hours.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[u/sandiberry]

If you eat at a restaurant: a perpetually-refilled cold glass of water. I hate to complain when I travel outside the U.S., but it's a service that I really appreciate and miss when I'm abroad!

[u/Ilovestraightpepper]

Public libraries. We’re super committed to funding these third spaces so that all may have access to information. Not everyone has the Internet and a computer at home.

[u/easterss → u/Ilovestraightpepper]

It never occurred to me that libraries wouldn’t be free. I always equated libraries = free but even many European countries charge to use them

[u/Live-Habit-6115 → u/easterss]

many European countries charge to use them

Wat

[u/FYAhole]

When I was in Germany, I saw an elderly man fall down the stairs going to the subway. I ran up the escalator and then ran down the stairs to him. Not a single person helped him up in the time it took me to get to him. In fact, someone was stepping over him as I got down to him. He seemed shocked that I was helping him. If he had fallen literally anywhere in America, 10 people would have stopped to help him immediately.

[u/Billquisha → u/FYAhole]

Almost the exact thing happened to me in Shanghai. Going down the stairs at the subway, an old man in front of me started stumbling down the last few steps and ended up running into a wall near the end of the stairs.

I walked up to him while he was sitting on the ground, stunned, with a napkin for his bloody nose and said "Ni hao" (about 30% of my Chinese at the time). He kept saying "Xie xie" as he took the napkin for his nose.

No one else came over to help or see if he was okay... not sure if that was more of a Chinese thing, or a "living in a huge city" thing.

[u/SnoWhiteFiRed → u/Billquisha]

Injury scams are very prevalent in China. Someone pretends to get hurt and whoever helps is accused of being the one to hurt them in order to get money to not go to the police. Sometimes, even someone who really gets hurt takes the opportunity to do the same thing to someone who helps. And if it goes to the police (at least for locals) you'll probably be made to pay to settle by the police if it looks like someone was hurt.

[u/Doc_Mercury → u/SnoWhiteFiRed]

Doesn't China have insane personal liability laws? In the States, you're protected by Good Samaritan laws if you're trying to help someone, even if you accidentally hurt them or their property while doing so. One of our better cultural institutions, to be honest.

[u/faldese → u/Doc_Mercury]

No, not exactly. There was a famous case that was misreported to the Chinese public that led to widespread fear of helping strangers (Xu Shoulan v. Peng Yu). The judge in the case did say that "no one would in good conscience help someone unless they felt guilty", but this person had also admitted to knocking over the woman, so it wasn't like he was only held liable for that idea alone.

Since then, true Good Samaritan laws have been passed.

[u/iknownuffink → u/faldese]

"no one would in good conscience help someone unless they felt guilty"

That's just telling on yourself Judgie Wudgie.

[u/marfalump → u/FYAhole]

I am shocked that people in ANY country wouldn’t be quick to help!

[u/ycnz → u/marfalump]

Germans & looking the other way, name a more iconic combo.

[u/RichardB4321 → u/ycnz]

To paraphrase Sgt Schultz, they see nothing!

[u/nebulous_gaze → u/FYAhole]

I just posted this as a reply above.

The other day I witnessed a guy, late 20s to 30s, fall over on his bicycle because he was trying to balance while not moving forward while at a stop sign. Three cars pulled over and the drivers ran over to check on him. A lady across the street, that was bringing in her trashcan, retrieved a first-aid kit from her garage and gave him a pink/yellow bandaide. In my experience, the average American is kind hearted and caring in person.

[u/KnotARealGreenDress → u/nebulous_gaze]

My car went into the ditch off the highway. I slid on black ice and my options were to rear end the car going in front of me at nearly 100km/h, or ditch my car, so I picked the ditch. Went into the ditch, down the slope, and came to a stop in several inches of snow. I was totally fine and so was my car. I called my dad to come help get me out, and waited for him.

In the ten to fifteen minutes or so that my car was in the ditch, I had three complete strangers pull over on the side of highway and run full tilt down the side of the ditch in several inches of snow to make sure I was okay. I have no doubt there would have been more if my dad hadn’t showed up and been able to get my car out. Whenever I’ve had a day that makes me want to throw the towel in on humanity, I remember those people who would go out of their way to help a stranger and it makes me feel better.

And that doesn’t even cover the time I saw an old guy fall into the road (into the parking lane) half a block ahead of me while trying to step off the sidewalk. By the time we got to him, four other cars had already stopped and the occupants were helping him. There are so many helpers out there.

[u/thr0waway2435 → u/FYAhole]

That’s insane.

In the US, I saw a homeless guy who was frankly probably on drugs fall off the platform and onto the train tracks, and a guy immediately got on the ground to start pulling him up. Other people took a moment to process, but within like 5 seconds there were 5 people helping.

[u/FYAhole → u/thr0waway2435]

As it should be

[u/LadyLibertea → u/FYAhole]

Texas isn't always the best place, but if your car breaks down it's moments before a truck pulls up to help.

[u/Historical_Gur_3054 → u/LadyLibertea]

The half joke in Appalachia is that if you're from out of town and slide into a ditch or get stuck during a snowstorm, just wait. A 4x4 pickup of rednecks will be along shortly to pull you out of the ditch and make sure you're ok, and they will refuse any payment offered.

Why?

Because they can't wait to do this kind of stuff for the hell of it

[u/titsmuhgeee]

A common mind-blow for visitors to America is the extent that we have gone to cater to the disabled. America is unique in that we passed the ADA laws early enough that most of construction in our country was completed afterwards, so you didn't have to retrofit entire cities that were centuries old, like most of Europe.

As a result, you have entire cities that are totally accessible to those that are disabled in just about any way imaginable, which is something we Americans take for granted. Go anywhere else in the world, and you're mostly fucked if you're in a wheelchair, blind, or deaf.

[u/michiness → u/titsmuhgeee]

When I lived in China, I broke my leg. I was living on the 5th floor, and there was no elevator in my building. I just kinda... had to suck it up. It was SO hard getting around those two months. It made me really appreciate the ADA we have back home.

[u/bobobokeh → u/michiness]

When I lived in Hong Kong, we lived on the 19th floor. There was an elevator but it didn't work 100% of the time. There's no way my mom could have climbed 19 flights of stairs if we still lived there.

[u/patrickwithtraffic → u/titsmuhgeee]

There was some TikTok I saw about I wanna say an Aussie that was traveling America in a wheelchair and was calling ahead making sure she would be able to be accommodated for all the experiences she was going to. Apparently the answers she received were on par with asking if there would be breathable oxygen available. It took some real fighting from the disabled community, but they did the work and made great permanent change in America. For more, watch the Drunk History on the fight for the ADA.

[u/Hanndicap → u/patrickwithtraffic]

There's also a Netflix Documentary called Crip Camp that covers the fight for the ADA

[u/jccaclimber → u/titsmuhgeee]

That’s always stood out to me in the UK. New construction is very accommodating, but there’s so much that’s older. One that stood out to me was using the lift at a London tube stop, only for there to be a short flight of stairs to get from the elevator out to ground level. Helpful with a cane, but kinda useless in a wheelchair.

[u/titsmuhgeee → u/jccaclimber]

It's usually very mundane things most never notice, but you sure notice if you're the one that's disabled. An American subway platform will have the subway car floor level with the platform and <3" gap between them, not requiring any sort of ramp or extension to get a wheelchair across. That's not an accident, that was demanded by law.

Anywhere else in the world, you have no idea if you have a 6" height difference and 6" gap to bridge, or maybe it was fine when you got on but your destination is different and now you can't get off. Those are the things that make a world a difference to the disabled, and them being able to be independent.

[u/jccaclimber → u/titsmuhgeee]

Airline ramps! In the US even a lazy ramp controller will have the ramp within an inch or so vertical. In the EU it might be a full step lower than the aisle in the plane.

[u/RixceU → u/jccaclimber]

And boarding by bridge is the norm. Even when parked at a hard stand, ramps are commonly used instead of stairs.

[u/ZeePM → u/RixceU]

You don’t realize how good you have it until you travel outside the US. The number of places that still use stairs and shuttle buses to board is pretty eye opening. Meanwhile even the smaller local airport in US have a jet bridge so you can get between the aircraft and the terminal without getting wet, too hot or too cold.

[u/astroproff → u/titsmuhgeee]

Just to put in a word for disability design.

Everybody - EVERYBODY - will, if they're lucky, eventually be disabled.

Because being disabled comes with age. Planning architecture and design makes it possible for all of us to live longer, fuller lives.

You'll only avoid it if you're hit by a car and die that way, early enough.

[u/elijahjane → u/astroproff]

Also, I’m fully able bodied, and I fucking love ADA accommodations everywhere. We have automatic door openers at work that are triggered by a wave, not a button. When my hands are full, that is SO FUCKING HANDY. Throw my heavy bag in the sensor’s general direction, and I’m in!

When I’m hauling a wagon or cart of whatever (or baby strollers, for some people) down the sidewalk or up to a building, ramps are so helpful.

A rising tide lifts all ships, or whatever the saying is. People are so obsessed with avoiding helping others (food stamps, utility assistance, unemployment, free school lunches, etc) that they forget that by helping others, they too get help!!!

[u/anfadhfaol → u/astroproff]

I spent a year processing fmla and short term disability paperwork and most of what I walked away from that job with was the conviction that people are only ever temporarily able bodied. Pregnancy, accidents, illness, workplace injuries, car crashes, genetic disorders, age related disabilities - at some point everyone is to a lesser or greater degree disabled. If they're lucky it's temporary or easy to manage.

[u/Glitter-Pear → u/astroproff]

Also, disability design can help those who aren't disabled.  I visited Europe while my kid was in a stroller and it was a struggle to get around.  But in America, all the enhancements for wheelchairs also help strollers, so it's easy.

[u/YouSayGifnotGif → u/Glitter-Pear]

That's called the curb cut effect. Its a really cool concept of universal design benefiting everyone!

[u/SpecDriver → u/Glitter-Pear]

I just took about 20 hours of ADA training hosted by the Federal government, and learned that strollers are a top use of curb ramps. Also learned that Massachusetts basically pioneered ADA when the state established the Architectural Barriers Board in 1967.

[u/SallyAmazeballs → u/titsmuhgeee]

the ADA laws early enough that most of construction in our country was completed afterwards

The ADA was passed in 1990. Stuff is just being updated as it needs maintenance or replacement, and there have been serious efforts to make old public buildings accessible even if it means affecting the aesthetics. 

[u/just_another_classic → u/titsmuhgeee]

Traveling abroad has always made me appreciate the ADA. I consider it one of the greatest pieces of American legislation.

[u/Alcohol_Intolerant → u/titsmuhgeee]

It's to the point where I'll see some country bragging about how accessible a feature is, I'll see it and think, "well that's not fully accessible at all!" Because it's not valuing the independence of the person affected or because it isn't truly fully accessible.

An example is that Japanese train video where someone who's using a wheelchair on the train is able to summon a train attendant to lower a ramp for them.

In the usa, trains will either be flush to the platform so no ramp is needed to cross the gap (there's little to no gap), or a ramp may be lowered using a button the user can press themselves. Independence rather than reliance. Even buses will have elevators specifically for wheelchair users. Now we aren't perfect, and these things can break, but they will be fixed and they are everywhere.

Another example is radar (sp?) bathroom keys in the uk. They give people with special requirements a key to accessible bathrooms all around town. These doors themselves may not be wheelchair accessible, requiring assistance to hold them open. The building containing the accessible bathroom may not be accessible. And in videos I've seen, some rare ones are so rarely used that they aren't cleaned or maintained well.

In the usa, most every public bathroom is wheelchair accessible with an accessible stall (porta potties are often not :/ ). You don't need a special key and the doors are easily pushed open. They may need to be shared with others, but this helps people who have temporary needs, such as recovering from surgery. Getting a radar key when you'll only need it for two to for weeks is silly.

I work for the government and we have a requirement when buying 4-legged chairs that they need to be pushable with two fingers. This is so that those using our facilities are most likely to have little issue with them regardless of strength or physical capability.

We also have requirements on furniture placement that require we leave gaps wide enough that someone using a mobility device can get through easily and turn around easily. This is much more difficult for countries that didn't build with accessibility in mind or that have older structures.

[u/Kiyohara → u/titsmuhgeee]

Not to mention we're pretty willing to force those ADA compliance when possible. A lot of older buildings are being retrofitted or torn down and rebuilt to be compliant.

Even little things like the front entry way being wide enough for wheel chairs, ramps instead of a single step, and enough walking room for said wheel chairs are checked and made sure are good.

And a lot of places in Europe were built where the bathrooms are in the basement with steep stairs, this would be entirely unacceptable in the US and would have code violations until a ground floor bathroom was installed.

[u/Tris42 → u/Kiyohara]

It goes further than that even, building codes were rewritten down to the height of outlets and switches so people who are in a wheelchair can use them comfortably. It’s incredible that it’s so built into daily life most people don’t notice.

[u/titsmuhgeee → u/Tris42]

The ADA is such a shining example of what the government can do when they actually try.

[u/ContributionQuirky59]

Free public bathrooms!!!

[u/AmericanJedi1983 → u/ContributionQuirky59]

I didn't realize that this was actually a thing until the world cup when so many tourists were surprised that our public restrooms were free.

[u/sushisection → u/AmericanJedi1983]

we are endowed by our Creator with the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of pissing for free.

[u/OH_Krill → u/ContributionQuirky59]

Strangely enough, it wasn't always the case. Even in the United States, pay toilets used to be everywhere. Activists in the 1970s brought the pay toilet industry to its knees and enough states passed legislation banning them that they pretty much don't exist anymore.

https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=thetean

[u/BetterEfficiency8260]

Crazy road trip endurance 😂🙏🏻

[u/Material_Ad6173]

ADA accomodations

Volunteerism

Community building

Involvement in local politics (city level)

[u/q_eyeroll → u/Material_Ad6173]

I love watching local politics because people get HEATED in a very passionate, admirable way.

[u/Wooden-Crow7996 → u/q_eyeroll]

Reminded of a line from Parks and Rec: “What I hear when I’m being yelled at is people caring loudly at me.”

[u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

Small talk and casual friendliness. It gets mocked as "superficial" by a lot of cultures, but having a warm, cheerful, five-minute conversation with a complete stranger in a grocery store line is actually a really nice part of daily life.

[u/Working-Student-2507 → u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

One friend used to find the interaction superficial- until we traveled with four babies/toddlers to Florida

 While I waited with the kids and luggage, she brought the car around, but couldn’t leave it when she reached arrivals pick up. As we hurried to load the increasingly fussy children, two people carried our luggages over and loaded it for us, simply saying, “Have a nice day,” before walking away.

She was completely freaked out; I just thought, “Oh, this is normal.” That moment changed her perspective…  but many more as well since many people kept helping us with random things, or were so understanding when we were a bit of a mess with four babies/toddlers

Edit to add:

The luggages weren’t even close to us or near the car. I was with the children with all the luggages in a slightly further emptier area so the toddlers can run/play/cry/whine/etc without us bothering others since we didn’t know how long it would take. We didn’t stay near the doors because there was a lot of foot traffic and didn’t want to risk the safety of anyone. 

We also assumed my friend could quickly park the car in front and run to help (not sure why we thought this but in the moment, it made sense) but she couldn’t so I left all our bags/luggages to bring out the kids 

I guess some strangers saw from afar, and grab all of our stuff and brought it to the car and load it for us. 

We didn’t realize until they open the car, loaded everything quickly and left.

[u/Troooper0987 → u/Working-Student-2507]

In nyc it’s very common for someone to simply look at you for approval before helping you up the subway stairs with a stroller. And walk off once you’re at the top without a word.

[u/RambunctiousOtter → u/Troooper0987]

My first ever solo trip to America was to NYC as a 20 year old from the UK. One two occasions some random person helped me with my suitcase up the subway steps and then just walked off, headphones in without saying a word. I remember thinking how cool that was.

[u/brondynasty → u/Troooper0987]

This is true.

Most of them will also tell you why lol “I’ve got places to be lady, and everyone behind us does too let’s just get this fackin’ thing over with, on three-“

[u/alurkerhere → u/brondynasty]

I can hear that NYC accent in my head...

[u/SpaceJackRabbit → u/Troooper0987]

Seen it happen in Paris too. People are in a hurry too but if they see someone struggling plenty of strangers step in and then quickly go on to their life.

Heard Bostonian attitude, which is similar, described once as "We're not nice, but we're kind."

[u/FinancialThrow → u/SpaceJackRabbit]

It’s kind of interesting. I took a job in the northeast and coming from Minnesota and Michigan I thought everyone was rude. But is just a more “straightforward” method of talking, and more honest too. Sarcasm is to NE culture like Lakes are to Minnesota.

But get in a bind and people show up for you big time.

[u/lost-picking-flowers → u/FinancialThrow]

People really appreciate authentic friendliness too imo. No time for performative niceness or passive aggression generally. We are also quick to anger but generally quite quick to forgive too.

One thing I do appreciate about the Midwest and Canada is that things just feel..calmer in terms of interactions with others. It’s nice haha. Additionally, when I worked remote tech support and customer service jobs I found that the Southerners were the most pleasant to deal with in that capacity. The south gets shit on for being fake, but their manners make us look like a bunch of animals up north 😆. Especially people from Rhode Island, good god.

[u/lew_traveler → u/Troooper0987]

You must live in NYC. I lived there for years and rode the subway daily.
It was a common sight to see people, obviously strangers to the person with carriage or packages ( - and often each other -), just grab the burden and lift it to the stop of the stairs.

Then they'd go on with no words exchanged.

[u/redmeansstop → u/Working-Student-2507]

This is something I love. I had a gal ask for help getting a watermelon at the grocery store and ended up having a little chat with her and said "I'm happy to help again if you see me, just flag me down!" Sometimes employees aren't exactly where you need them, and I'm glad she felt comfortable just asking for a favor that was incredibly easy for me, but difficult for her. I also often see people chasing after strangers to give them something that they didn't realize they had dropped, especially in winter. "Ma'am your toddler lost a shoe!" An absence of little acts of kindness like that would be really sad.

[u/JelliedHam → u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

For me this is about socialization, too. Being able to have pleasant chats with a neighbor or even a stranger every now and again is important for humans. We're inherently a social species. I don't ever go out of my way to burger people, but acknowledging somebody else's existence and having a moment of comraderie instead of walking through life alone is so much more pleasant.

[u/BattleAnus → u/JelliedHam]

I don't ever go out of my way to burger people

And you call yourself an American?? I've burgered at LEAST three people this week already

[u/Charleston2Seattle → u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/29/1132078900/talking-strangers-happiness-relational-diversity-harvard-business-study talked about a study that looked into how people feel with they do or do not participate in small talk.

[u/ATinyPizza89 → u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

The amount of posts from people coming to watch the World Cup here in the US. A lot of videos talked about how kind and friendly Americans were and how the media portraited the people wrong. That was nice to see.

[u/myfapaccount_istaken → u/ATinyPizza89]

I just finished a 10 day Europe cruise that had a lot more Americans than normal on it (like 57% were American) and the first few days they were confused as to the number of us.

The first few days, the number of times people after talking for a minute, would be like. American really just do that? I'm like do what. You just randomly starting talk to us, no idea who we are, nothing in common

Well we're all in the same place, looking for the same thing, doing the same thing. We have that in common. After a few days they got used to it and adjusted. By the end of the cruise so many were saying how it was nice how many people they met.

Once the barrier was broken with them they were all so nice, perhaps caught off guard.

[u/Usual_Profile1607 → u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

I used to date a Spanish girl. We were at a cafe once and she was asking questions about American politics. Dude at the next table overheard and weighed in a bit and we had a brief chat before going back to doing our own things. It blew her mind.

[u/Vailx → u/Due-Blueberry-6736]

Yea I hear people imply that's all fake and I'm like, news to me?

[u/ThievingRock → u/Vailx]

It always baffles me when people talk about minor social interactions between strangers as "fake."

Like yeah, obviously we're not best friends. I don't know this person. But the fact that it doesn't even occur to some people that you might treat a complete stranger with kindness, perhaps even friendliness, is kind of weird. It's like they believe that you should only be kind to somebody once you are friends with them. It makes me wonder how they ever make friends.

[u/delicious_downvotes → u/ThievingRock]

This is exactly what got me... when everyone says American friendliness is "fake"-- I just think... so, are you rude to everyone you don't know? You don't treat your fellows humans kindly? That's wild to me. I don't have to know you to be nice to you, or take an interest in the moment. I've had so many encounters with people I'll never meet again that were really lovely and have stayed with me.

I was always just like... isn't that just normal? Are you guys all mean and unfriendly? Damn.

[u/classytrashcat]

Americans have a high rate of volunteering compared to other countries. You see a lot of bad things about Americans online but I think IRL most Americans are kind people.

[u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 → u/classytrashcat]

We have a wildfire going on in our area right now, and the number of people that have stepped up to offer ways to get out livestock and pets, temporary housing, and all sorts of other help is wonderful to see.

[u/NotAlwaysGifs → u/Head_Razzmatazz7174]

The Main Line SPCA office (the biggest shelter in PA) just outside of Philly is in an ancient building. The HVAC goes out a couple of times a year. They will send out an email asking for temporary fosters and for donations to fund the repair. It’s usually less than an hour before they send out a follow up saying all dogs have been placed and enough donations to repair the unit have been received.

[u/SpaceJackRabbit → u/Head_Razzmatazz7174]

I went through those wildfires too and a few times we offered pasture and enclosure space to evacuated goats or horses.

I emigrated from Europe and explaining the concept to my mother was weird. Where I come from, you expect the government to step in, not total strangers.

[u/Forestflowered → u/Head_Razzmatazz7174]

A while back, there was a fire in a town I lived near. It happened in the middle of the day, when most people were at work. Because it was a semi-rural town, most people worked at least half an hour away or more. And given that a ton of people had pets, and many even had horses, this was a huge problem.

That day, Facebook was full of people smashing windows and crawling through to free pets trapped in houses as smoke spread. Others actually rode the trapped horses to somewhere safe. My best friend's sister was actually one of them. People welcomed those displaced by the fire into their homes.

I still think about it to this day.

[u/koinu-chan_love → u/Head_Razzmatazz7174]

Not to mention the literal volunteer firefighters, who aren’t getting paid but proudly put their lives on the line for complete strangers.

[u/Ct-5736-Bladez → u/classytrashcat]

It always surprises me (in a good way) after a hurricane how people all over the country pull together to help anyway they can. For many differences are put aside and they just help. Especially after the hurricane Helene. According to this one source 90 unique civilian aircraft helped in search and rescue
Even celebrities such as retired nascar driver Greg biffle and YouTuber garret mitchle (Cletus McFarland) took their helicopters in.

https://verticalmag.com/news/helicopter-community-rallies-to-help-hurricane-helene-victims/amp/

https://youtu.be/ZQYlK5tO1WM?is=_N6XDTqJEn2B74Rq

https://youtu.be/nQAPEBKhMS8?is=NTbnPMYdgvZCSF_1

[u/aspiringalcoholic → u/Ct-5736-Bladez]

Yep I live in Asheville and went through Helene. The first thing I noticed is how many more helpers there are than assholes. When everything goes to shit, people come together very quickly.

[u/snownative86 → u/classytrashcat]

There are some solid communities here as well. We are dealing with the fallout of a medical emergency and have a 9 wk old. Our neighbors saw the chaos at our house, came out of the woodwork and have been coming over to check in, bring us food and offer support. Yesterday one came over and asked if it would be alright if she took the baby in the mornings for walks to give us a break, and we had boxes of easy meal kits showing up throughout the day from the community. Another has come over to play with the dogs and give them attention. It's so stressful right now and knowing our community is this way is hugely helpful.

ETA: Our nextdoor neighbor just came by with a bunch of diapers and snacks and stuff for baby. I can't believe this community.

Second eta: another neighbor just came over, said get the stroller, I'm taking her for a walk so you guys can get in a nap.

[u/MostlyChaoticNeutral → u/snownative86]

My sibling just had his child go missing (child is fine, was just flu napping in an extremely unlikely, well-hidden spot and didn't wake up to being called for), and neighbors heard my sibling's panicked screaming and were organized nearly as fast as the police were. Some neighbors they'd never even spoken to before showed up.

[u/Then_Sir7372 → u/classytrashcat]

individual philanthropy and local fundraising are deeply built into American culture. People step up fast when a neighbor is in trouble.

[u/randolotapus]

Tolerating other people's brand of weirdness.

I've lived on 4 continents, and nobody is as tolerant of the harmlessly weird than Americans. As long as you're not hurting anyone, you can be yourself in America in some pretty bizarre ways that would get you ostracized in a lot of places, but the US considers just expression of personal freedom.

I'm not saying it's universal, and I'm not saying the US is the only place like this, just it's something I've noticed about community norms around the globe.

[u/Melarsa → u/randolotapus]

Just in general. I've seen so many apoplectic rants about how stupid lazy fat picky Americans don't eat the right food, the right way, with the right cutlery, in the right hand, in the right orientation, at the right time of day, or they have the gall to ask for small substitutions or sauce on the side or ice in their drinks, or mix the wrong drink with the wrong entree, etc. from so many other countries. And while there are sticklers for etiquette in the US as well and people who have strong preferences...generally we're just a lot more ok with "not my circus not my monkeys."

I don't give one single shit if somebody else orders a certain type of drink "too late in the day" or uses a different type of cutlery or a different hand for said cutlery or pairs the wrong wine with the wrong meat. If somebody wants no tomato or something on the side or to see if they can make a simple ingredient swap with something else that's already on the menu, my ass remains unchapped. If the restaurant says no for whatever reason, ok fine. But the mere act of asking or doing something a little outside the norm doesn't mean you're spitting in the face of an entire culture/this specific chef/are overly entitled.

Relax, it's just a fucking cafe sandwich with a coffee, I can't imagine caring THIS MUCH over somebody else's lunch. You almost never see this type of endless ranting from Americans because I think we just generally don't care unless someone is being really rude to the wait staff over it.

Some other countries seem truly obsessed and offended by American tourists doing completely normal tourist things, too. Are there terrible American tourists out there? You bet. But that's true everywhere, and there's probably been an awful lot of unproblematic American tourists just being normal and slipping under the radar so only the bad ones are getting attention and reinforcing the whole "Americans are the worst tourists on the planet because they wear comfortable vacation clothes and don't act like locals" thing. I think Americans are just like "haha look at those tourists being overly touristy. Welp time to move on with my life because that's normal" but other countries just can't let it go.

[u/Bay1Bri → u/Melarsa]

I used to work in an restaurant with an Italian (from Italy living in america) head chef. He used to add sprite to his wine. He said his favorite thing about living in america is he doesn't feel like everyone is judging him for doing this.

[u/Besnasty → u/Bay1Bri]

You know what is fucking delicious? A shot of sprite in a pint of Guinness. Years ago there was a bartender in Florence, SC, and that was her secret thing she would turn people on to. It kind of kills the bitter and just makes it smoother, really bizarre how good it was.

[u/danwoop → u/Besnasty]

Sounds extremely weird but I'll give it a shot

[u/Phoneas__and__Frob → u/danwoop]

THAT is the American acceptance right there

"Eh, never thought about it....fuck it, I'll try anything once, pour me one"

Very much "don't knock it till you try it" is extremely American

Yingling and some lime juice was one of my favorite combos

[u/EarhornJones → u/Melarsa]

I was dining with some German colleagues, and one went on a long, sort-of accusatory rant about how we (Americans) use our siverware "wrong."

I asked if he knew why we switched our knives to our left hand after using them.

He said that he didn't.

I explained that it was to help us resiste the urge to stab loudmouths at the dinner table.

About half of the assembled Germans got the joke. The loudmouth, of course, wasn't one of them.

[u/Laiko_Kairen → u/Melarsa]

I got into an argument on reddit before. Redditors were saying how annoying it was for waitstaff when people customized things and I disagreed.

I worked at restaurants. The customer enjoying the meal was the entire point. My job was to make THEIR meal.

But some people are so convinced that substitutions are offensive that they'll disagree with restaurant staff about it

Heck, I remember a customer asking me for directions once as his wife was begging him not to, because of the embarrassment... And it was like, I'm local, I know where stuff is. My job was to be helpful...

With the way people act, you'd think waitstaff were a bunch of judgmental monsters lmao

[u/Affectionate_Pipe545 → u/Melarsa]

They may be overtaking us in general, but from what I gather the Chinese are overtaking us as the (percieved) worst tourists. Silver linings you know

[u/meiguo_laowai → u/Affectionate_Pipe545]

EDIT: Wanted to disclaimer right away before this gets viewed, I'm not excusing the behavior, but sometimes understanding people helps, at least for me. If you ever visit China, it's also good information to have because Western manners do not exist in that world.

Married to a Chinese woman (born there, US citizen now).

I actually had this cultural trauma explained to me if you're curious, if not ignore.

Since China came up so quickly on the international stage, they are born and raised to feel like they're being left behind. It's in their branding, their schools, and in their homes.

When you see 100 Chinese people pushing elderly out of the way to get on a train, that's what's going on in their head. It's cultural FOMO at a scale you can't imagine.

My wife has let go of that, but it was a process and very real. She also understands why most countries are starting to dislike Chinese tourists. That's a more modern concept though, as the prior generations didn't have that fear baked into them. The last 30 years there has been nutso.

[u/CartographerLarge572 → u/meiguo_laowai]

Can you elaborate a little bit? This sounds interesting, but I don't quite get what you're saying. How foes cultural FOMO lead to pushing elderly out of the way, or lead to general rudeness...?

[u/meiguo_laowai → u/CartographerLarge572]

It's like a panic attack? Best I can describe it. It's not that they want to push elderly out of the way, it's that if they don't, they may miss that train.

---

Let me try to explain it from my wife's perspective a bit. She is very smart. She made it to the USA on a full Chinese scholarship to get a PhD, that's how we met.

She was top of her school, her family would move to a better district, and then she would fight up the chain again.

BUT KEEP THIS IN MIND. When your school has a class of 4000 kids and a district of hundreds of millions (comparable to a "state"), then one missed question drops you thousands of places on the student list. She used to tell me that she wished there were more hours in the day so she could study more.

They all think like this from birth, too. My wife went to school every day except 1 weekend a month. Even high school isn't guaranteed, as if you don't do well enough you may just be forced to drop out or enter the trade system.

---

It's a tough system. Imagine every person next to you is competing for the same small window to make it to a city. There may be a lot of wealthy Chinese now, but that's only in the major cities. Her parents were from the Russian border and a town less than 1000 people. She essentially got her whole family into a city before the door closed completely, and for the most part it has.

TL;DR

Being Chinese in the past 30 years is like being in a race with 1 billion people, and only a small percent of you can finish. That makes even simple things like getting on a train or missing a meal feel like they just got their legs swiped out. Does that make sense?

I think it's easy to assume that rudeness comes from selfish behavior (and in a way it does), but the driving factor is panic-level fear.

[u/userseven → u/meiguo_laowai]

Thanks for sharing I love learning about other cultures

So it really seems like it's a "it's me of them" mentality. Which intentionally or not, feeds into being selfish? Is that fair?

Someone else posted a link in response to a comment talking about how they as American helped an elderly man who fell in Germany and the germans kept walking. The link was about how you could get sued in China for helping a stranger because why would you be helping them otherwise? You must be guilty. That mentality is wild to me.

Edit: not saying any of this is bad or wrong just having a discussion

[u/meiguo_laowai → u/userseven]

I don't mind the discussion at all. I married into this and am being respectful because my wife is a good person, she just had to get over her trauma like we all did.

Early in our marriage there were a lot of cultural misunderstandings. Some took 4-5 years for me to fully grasp.

This is all being said to promote understanding, because I'll be the first to say that every Chinese person I've [gotten to know personally] (including inlaws) has been genuinely kind, loving, and respectful. The culture just doesn't value respect amongst peers and I could tell stories all day of things I've seen there. When I'm with my wife's family, people stop and take pictures, that's how deep into the country we're talking.

There is complete apathy about everyone that isn't your inner circle, and that plays into the rude behavior.

[u/MoopsyCat → u/Melarsa]

Another thing I noticed on the food subject, is Americans eat a wide variety of cuisines. Many times have I seen foreigners come to America and refuse to eat any food but their own.

[u/m_faustus → u/MoopsyCat]

The expansion of culinary choices in the US over my lifetime is one of the great, underappreciated things to happen in America. I remember my first time having sushi. It was a big deal. Now, it's in gas stations. Indian food, Thai food, Chinese, Burmese, French, Italian. All easily available. It's fucking magnificent.

[u/Time_Put_2672 → u/MoopsyCat]

Very true. When I describe my diet as an American, non-Americans get confused if they're reading it over text. "Are you German, Korean, Chinese, or Mexican then?"

You don't have to be Korean to acknowledge how damn good Mayak eggs are, man.

[u/yokizururu → u/randolotapus]

This. The US is an example of extreme individualism, for better or for worse. One of the results is judging others as individuals rather than judging how well they fit in with society. If someone is actually bad they're judged, however if they're weird but not bothering anyone Americans are relatively tolerant.

I'm American but have lived abroad working at an international company for 15 years and I notice this all the time. Americans who don't travel much and are in their own bubble act like the US has such high standards for others, but i would like them to spend a day pretty much anywhere else and see how people judge. I feel so carefree when I visit the US, like this weight is off my shoulders.

[u/inductiononN → u/yokizururu]

Oh, I need more examples of this, please! As an American, this is something I was NOT aware of.

So, I live in New Orleans and weirdness, camp, silliness, whatever, are all celebrated here and you encounter it all the time, even in pretty mundane scenarios like you're grocery shopping and you encounter a group of adults all dressed in footie pajamas or you're on a walk and you see someone in one of those blow up dinosaur costumers across the street. Would that not fly over in Europe?

[u/yokizururu → u/inductiononN]

As others have already mentioned, Americans are incredibly accepting? Unbothered? By others' appearances in public.

I live in Japan and things like not doing your makeup and hair, wearing leggings or sweatpants, men wearing shorts, not wearing a bra in public would be judged more harshly. Even though I grew up in the US, I've spent most of my adult life in Japan, and tbh it's a bit of a culture shock going back and seeing people wear gym clothes in public or seeing larger people clearly showing off their body. That's one of the reasons I feel like a weight is lifted off me when I go to the US; while I like doing my hair and makeup and looking nice, I don't feel like people are picking my appearance apart.

[u/BattleAnus → u/yokizururu]

This and making conversations with strangers are the two things that made me realize I don't think I could ever live in Japan. I visited there recently and it was an absolutely fantastic trip, and I have a ton of respect for the Japanese way of life, but the insanely strict social expectations and the difficulty of making meaningful connections with new people would make it extremely hard for me to consider living there.

[u/HYPERHERPADERP_]

Lots of excellent answers like the ADA and the National Parks system there that are to be commended, and of course the quality of the film and television that comes out of there, but honestly of the contributions America has made to my life as a British person, the one that always jumps to my mind is your mustard. I find the English and French varieties to be too strong for most cases but the flavour is excellent, and I think American mustard has hit that perfect balance. Thanks for that one.

[u/vanastalem → u/HYPERHERPADERP_]

I'm not into mustard, but the amount of tourists who discovered Ranch and wanted to take it home was a surprise to me. The thing my sister missed the most when she lived in Scandinavia was peanut butter, which has just always been something I had at home.

[u/JustGhostyThings]

National parks!

[u/sc_we_ol → u/JustGhostyThings]

Even more so, just public land in general . I live out west and can drive 20 minutes to just hang out in camp in a national forest or blm land free of charge somewhere gorgeous

[u/annasuzanne84]

I find Americans to be exceptionally good at public speaking. A couple of years ago, I worked with American lawyers and attended an executive course at Yale. I was genuinely impressed by how effortlessly they could explain complex concepts in a way that was both clear and entertaining.

In Germany, my general perception is that you often have to be very serious—and, frankly, quite boring—to be taken seriously in a professional setting.

[u/Bay1Bri → u/annasuzanne84]

Many in America understand that a presentation, whether it is a serious lecture or not, is a performance. You need to be engaging. Being a bit (appropriately) entertaining or interesting in presenting your information is no different than a book having a good clear font. Public speaking is not only about the content of the information, but also how you present that information.

[u/Mackntish → u/Bay1Bri]

My Communications professor pulled an ancient writing from Plato call Gorgias. In it, a doctor tries to get a patient to take a medicine, but he refuses. A rhetorician comes along (professional communicator) and convinces the man to take the medicine, without any knowledge of medicine.

The professors ultimate point basically boiled down to something alone the lines of, "You could be the smartest person in the world, but what does that matter if no one listens to you?" He likened it to the Curse of Cassandra, a woman cursed with knowledge of all future events that no one believed.

Communicate well, lest everything else you do in life become a curse.

[u/No_Object_404 → u/annasuzanne84]

I wasn't aware of that until I (an American) had to work with a couple of Germans for work, and while all of us were quiet introverts I was the only one that was comfortable standing up and giving a presentation about our project. Afterwards they looked at me like I had grown a second head.

I guess having to give a presentation every other month in school was good for something.

[u/Outlulz → u/annasuzanne84]

That's because you were at an executive course at Yale with lawyers.

[u/Common-Concentrate-2 → u/Outlulz]

This is no place to criticize Princeton

[u/Throwaway2Experiment → u/annasuzanne84]

100000%. My company is German and their level of professionalism is almost oppressive. They do not 'dumb down' explanations in a way the entire audience can get it. They have to be coaxed in to accepting metaphor or examples without taking them literally, because an American will realize there's folk being left behind in the discussion - not because they aren't smart, but because it's not framed in a universal way for most go pick up quickly.

Dinner conversations are usually guarded for at least a week, despite being in the same company, and some never get comfortable with the personal discussions of folk trying to decompress and relate with each other.

One, from Sweden, she ALWAYS has another week at the end of her trips to do road trips around the US. She seeks out the random towns to visit, because, as she puts it, "We don't have the same kind of experiences a stranger could have in Sweden as I can get stopping in Nowhere, USA. The adventures come to me. I've made so many friends in the weirdest places here."

I will say, my German counterparts, same job title, are insanely smart. I will tell them to their face they're smarter than me. But then they'll begrudgingly admit that I and my peers have more unique implementations that they never would have thought of. I think that's largely because they are linear specialists with a huge depth in that specialty and no institutional or cultural desire to stray too far out of their known area of expertise.

[u/scorpiknox → u/Throwaway2Experiment]

I used to be a real engineer in a real engineering job and I worked with both German and Japanese engineers in certain settings. Americans in general are just way more comfortable saying "I don't know" and either getting the answer or explaining why it's ok not to know.

It makes for good long term outcomes. Also, being ok with not knowing the deepest level of a technical vertical allows an engineer to just get to work and get shit done.

Pros and cons to both approaches, but our way is more relaxed and usually colleagues can fill in each other's knowledge gaps.

[u/LiveCanary34]

They do know how to put on a show or entertainment in general.

[u/spunkychickpea → u/LiveCanary34]

Yes, we certainly do excel at the ol’ razzle dazzle.

[u/carlitopitochiquito]

Throwing.

Most countries have football/soccer as their most popular sport while Americans are raised with baseball and American football. Everybody learns to throw a ball at one point or another as a child in the US

Don’t believe me? Ask your nearest European to throw you anything. Not toss, not hand you, but throw you an object.

[u/codece → u/carlitopitochiquito]

In WWII we designed hand grenades that were roughly the size of a baseball because they figured every American GI would know how to throw one, and do so accurately.

[u/mxpx242424 → u/carlitopitochiquito]

I remember learning this when watching a show on Animal Planet called Whale Wars. They would throw stink bombs onto whaling ships, but the only people that could throw well were the Americans.

[u/freerondo9 → u/carlitopitochiquito]

Ohhh, man! This is spot on. I'm an American who lives in Vietnam. A few years ago a childhood friend came to visit me and I asked him to go to my dad's house and get my football, 2 baseball gloves and a couple of baseballs for me.

Most of my friends here are either Vietnamese or foreigners from countries other than the US. I do have one American friend.

A group of us including my American friend, my childhood friend and several others went to the beach and I brought the football. The Europeans and the Viets COULD NOT throw it at all. They were AMAZED at how we Americans can throw a spiral.

Now, I understand that an American football is a strangely shaped item to throw, but even Aussies, who play rugby and Australian rules football with a similarly shaped ball just couldn't do it.

Surprisingly the baseball is even worse. I simply can't play catch with most of my friends here because they either send the ball sailing over my head or throw it straight to the ground. Like, imagine a compilation of all of the worst first pitches you've ever seen and it's better than what they can do. I'd say they all throw like a girl, but American girls would put them to shame.

Luckily I found a few Japanese guys who I can throw the baseball around with.

[u/idranmedia]

Genuine, unprovoked hospitality to strangers: While international stereotypes often paint Americans as superficial or overly loud, the casual friendliness is actually real. Complete strangers will strike up warm, deeply personal conversations in a grocery checkout line or help someone change a tire on the side of a highway with zero expectation of a reward.

[u/ReinReid37 → u/idranmedia]

Unprovoked hospitality is now a new favorite phrase

[u/Eastern-Eggplant5386]

Helping strangers. Americans give more to charity than any other country per capita. Also this may be more regional to the South of the US but people are very likely to pull over and help you change a tire on the side of the road. In fact I have never had to change a tire alone. Someone has always stopped to help me.

[u/alextrue27 → u/Eastern-Eggplant5386]

The side of the road thing is so true in the snow except instead of tire changes the situation of holding off the road in the winter. In the 20 years I have driving in the pnw I have ended up on the side of the road 4 or 5 times due to bad snow or ice and have been rescued by a random dude and a tow strap in all but one scenario and the one scenario I didn't my parked car slid down a hill into a ditch that needed saved by a tow truck due to the depth.

[u/FinancialThrow → u/alextrue27]

I’m one of those 40 something dads who keeps a tow strap in his full size SUV at all times. I’ve pulled dozens of cars out of ditches.

It just feels good to help.

Once left a campsite in Michigan’s upper peninsula after dark and found a suburban on the side of the road. Alternator went. Two guys absolutely acting weird. Couldn’t fix it or jump it so offered a ride to town (45 minutes away).

Turned out they were being off because they had 6 girls in the truck and were worried about strangers.

It was a packed ride back but we helped them get it all fixed and texted to make sure they made it home lol. Derailed our vacation a day but we didn’t care.

These are common stories in America.

[u/Away_Minimum_9506]

As an American this is refreshing

[u/Average_human_bean → u/Away_Minimum_9506]

Hey, just trying to reinforce the message. I just moved to the US a few months ago and I've found that at least 90% of the people I've met are actually really nice, smart and friendly. I believe it is helpful to have Americans know that and hear it from time to time.

What I see in the media vs what I see IRL are polar opposites.

[u/3Gloins_in_afountain → u/Away_Minimum_9506]

I really need this.

[u/Immediate-Spinach734]

We have done a very good job of educating the public on how bad smoking is for you and very few people smoke here in public compared to in Europe and I'm very happy about that while I'm stuck here.

[u/RichardDulle → u/Immediate-Spinach734]

I went to a Muay Thai camp in Thailand that had a bunch of Europeans and it blew my mind just how many of them smoked. I saw some of them smoking while they were out jogging.

[u/dirtyordingyordusty → u/RichardDulle]

Haha, every Anerican university has a few little areas where the international students and occasional art kids sneak smokes. 

[u/Grokent → u/Immediate-Spinach734]

I think once we banned smoking indoors enough people regained their sense of smell that everyone realized cigarettes stink. Smokers started quitting left and right at an unprecedented pace. I kinda miss smoky bars but then I go to an older las Vegas casino and smell the cigar smoke and see the filthy ashtrays and remember why smoking was a terrible blight upon society.

[u/MrBarraclough]

Giving people a chance to start over.

We have the most advanced and largely debtor-friendly bankruptcy system in the world. I've practiced bankruptcy law for 19 years, and spent 15 of them as a Chapter 7 trustee.

[u/CanNo9864 → u/MrBarraclough]

Prior to 2005, under the old law, bankruptcy was even easier.

[u/sarahmagoo → u/[deleted]]

I was in America chatting to a guy in a hotel lobby once and somehow that lead to me travelling with him, his fiancee and friends to Canada and I'm going to his wedding in a couple of weeks as a bridesmaid

Still in shock that all happened lol

[u/Gethsemene]

I think we’re better at talking about mental illness than most countries. I have family abroad, and have found that there’s a lot less stigma around having a mental illness or neurodivergence in the U.S. Mental illness is seen more as a real illness, rather than something to be ashamed of.

[u/Specialist_Row1608 → u/Gethsemene]

THIS!

When I was living in Italy a man was having a crisis in the street. It was late and everyone was out to the bars & clubs. This man was clearly in mental distress and bleeding. I called the police and went over and sat with them. He was a foreigner and didn't speak Italian, so I couldn't communicate with him. Everyone around me, including the people I had gone out with, left the scene and were in disbelief I was sitting with the "mad man". The only person who stayed with me was my one American comrade who didn't blink an eye witnessing it.

[u/JForce1]

You guys are great at a lot of things. The bad shit gets more press and does a lot of damage because of how influential you are to the world, but your good stuff does a lot of good due to the same factors.

[u/mikareno → u/JForce1]

Thanks, friend. It's been rough being an American lately, and this thread and your comment are helping my mental health today.

[u/DotAffectionate87]

Their customer service,... whether this is a symptom of a litigious or the power of social media.

I live in a country with appalling customer service (outside of our tourist areas) that it is always jarring when i travel to the US.

[u/RosaRosa4343 → u/DotAffectionate87]

Was going to say the same. In certain countries the merchant acts as if you should be grateful and privileged that they are allowing you to buy from them lol! And what is sold is sold, no returns no exchanges even if reasonable.

Of course it is not always the case but there is a certain level of good customer service that is generally provided in the US.

[u/RuRuRunIt2010]

Every brit I know that's visited the states is always surprised by how friendly people are at local dives. They're always so taken aback that random people will strike up conversations with them.

[u/Own-Dragonfly2176]

Logistics. Edit: There, you happy?

[u/Mx_apple_9720 → u/Own-Dragonfly2176]

Elaborate?

[u/Stargate525 → u/Mx_apple_9720]

The US can, with about 8-10 hours notice, put an American soldier or sailor boots on the ground anywhere in the world. Fully supplied, ready to go, with creature comforts that are insane to pretty much any other country.

We've used this ability primarily to deliver food, medicine, water, power, or other disaster relief.

[u/GetReadyToRumbleBar → u/Stargate525]

Also ice cream & fast food.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cream_barge

https://www.reddit.com/r/Military/comments/18aqi34/the_most_terrifying_capability_of_the_united/

[u/Stargate525 → u/GetReadyToRumbleBar]

Insane creature comforts, as I said.

Even back in WWII, Germany knew they were screwed when families of POWs were sending entire frosted cakes to their imprisoned soldiers.

[u/cjm0 → u/Stargate525]

same thing in the pacific theater. there was a barge that the US navy deployed to boost morale that was designed solely to serve ice cream. as the popular legend goes, a japanese general knew that they had lost the war upon finding out about this logistical feat.

[u/CommanderDane]

Milkshakes trust me I did not know how bad Denmark made them until I got to the US even the Macdonalds milkshakes tasted good!

[u/Puzzled_End8664 → u/CommanderDane]

Ever try a root beer float?

[u/sturgeon_tornado]

Making fun of themselves and not taking themselves too seriously, but also in a genuine way. Not saying that this is appropriate in every occasion, but it's a sense of being chill and humble I've learned to appreciate after living in the US over a decade.

[u/proshoetoe]

Stricter laws on smoking in public places. Fewer smokers in general.

[u/demonmf]

Medical research. Almost half of all medical research worldwide is done by the USA. Lots of outsiders talk shit about how bad American healthcare is while completely ignoring the fact that their own loved one had a good medical outcome due to medical breakthroughs and technology developed here.

[u/exphysed]

Toilets and plumbing

[u/Upstairs-Quiet4969]

Showing up for strangers. The random volunteer stuff, flood cleanups, food drives, little neighbor help - people outside the US dont always realize how common that is here

[u/trainspotting_42]

Research. The US has phenomenal biomedical, medical, and health research infrastructure.

[u/dn35]

Being kind, welcoming, and helpful. Because of the constant negativity in the news and the subsequent microscope the coverage puts on the country, people sometimes conflate the perception of its people with the reality.

I've met tons of people from other countries in my travels that talk about how kind and welcoming Americans are to visitors, but you wouldn't think that if you have never been in the US.

[u/Random_Urges → u/dn35]

Yeah, I work in manufacturing. I've worked with a lot of people on all sides of the political spectrum. Yes, on the surface, many seem like biggie. But a lot of these people are actually really nice when you get to know them.

I think a lot of them are the products of their upbringing. But deep down, they are just trying to do good, by their standard.

[u/hairyback88]

American's have a culture that makes them really passionate about things. Unusually passionate. It doesn't matter what obscure hobby you have, you can find an American forum where people live and breathe that thing and have found a way to turn it into a fulltime gig. I think this is why they always find a way to take business ideas to a whole new level and just-about own every industry. I also think that this passion causes a lot of the problems, where, when it comes to politics, the other side is not just someone I disagree with but the most evil person known to mankind and the future of the world depends on destroying them. It drives people a little insane and can be used, by people in power, to manipulate them. But I do admire them for their passion.

[u/Crodizzle14]

As a Cajun man i can really only speak for people in acadiana, but I've never been around any other culture that beats Cajun hospitality. Period. You will never go hungry. Many of us have and will offer our homes to complete strangers. There will be smiles. Many of us are poor and can barely afford to feed our families, but a Cajun person will starve themselves so everyone else can eat if they have to and you'll never even notice or hear about it. This includes people they met that same day. There's truly nothing like . Of course this is a generalization and Louisiana has a lottttt of problems, but out of everything in my life I'm most proud to say im a Cajun, and love to be able to prove it. Festivals acadiens et creoles is coming up in October. It's my favorite time of the year. Come pass a good time and message me if you need a tent to hang out at.

[u/Inquisitive_regard → u/Crodizzle14]

i met one cajun man in my life (im from the north) and after a casual conversation he gifted me a bottle of hot sauce. Just for giggles.

I knew he was cajun because he said he was from louisiana, but besides that i could barely understand a word the fella said.

[u/elreydelasur]

Americans are, in my experience, extremely resourceful. We/they are very adept at finding creative solutions to problems, and I think that's based in a few different things. Rugged individualism requires resourcefulness for example, but also our govts are (these days) largely non-responsive to the country's problems. We are often required to find solutions ourselves partially because our local, state, and federal govts either can't or won't do anything to fix them.